


Fever Dreams

by Samunderthelights



Series: Vikings Short Stories [5]
Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: Brother/Brother Incest, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Don't copy to another site, Fluff and Angst, Hand Jobs, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Sibling Incest, Sick Character, hvitserk takes care of him, they do not die, ubbe is sick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:40:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24658498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samunderthelights/pseuds/Samunderthelights
Summary: A virus starts spreading through Kattegat, and it looks like it's about to claim Ubbe as one of its victims. But Hvitserk is not willing to lose his brother just yet.
Relationships: Hvitserk & Ubbe (Vikings), Hvitserk/Ubbe (Vikings)
Series: Vikings Short Stories [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2043841
Kudos: 24





	Fever Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!  
> Here's another short Ubbe / Hvitserk story that I wrote a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed writing this one, even though it's not /the/ happiest, I guess? Don't worry though, they don't die! I wouldn't do that! But yeah, I enjoyed writing this one, so hopefully some of you'll enjoy reading it!  
> I've also got some longer Ubbe / Hvitserk stories coming up. And also some Bjorn / Halfdan. I'm just ridiculously far behind on posting everything, and it doesn't help that I'm writing for so many different fandoms. But yeah, I do have more Vikings stuff coming up, I just don't know when. But this is definitely not the last you'll see of me.  
> Sorry?  
> Xx

It has only been a matter of days since people have started getting sick, but the smell of death, the sounds of people wailing because they have lost their loved ones, it is already taking over Kattegat, and as Hvitserk makes his way through the dozens of dead bodies to get through his brothers, he struggles to remember what life had looked like before all of this had started. He knows it was only last week when life had still been normal, but after not having slept for days, after spending day and night helping the sick, normal seems like a far-away dream now.

  
So Hvitserk steps into the great hall, where people are trying their best to take care of the sick, to help them get better, or in most cases, to help ease their dying. Death is no stranger to him, but the smell, and hearing the people he has known all his life, begging for something to release them from their pain, begging for something, anything, it cuts him deep down to the core. But what is worse is when the begging stops. Knowing that another person has lost the fight, and there is nothing he can do to help. Because this disease, it is spreading, and no matter what they try, nothing seems to stop it.

“Have you gotten any sleep?” Ubbe asks, when Hvitserk joins him. “I told you, we’ll manage without you here for a few hours.”

  
“I’m fine,” Hvitserk lies, trying his best to flash a reassuring smile, but there is something about his brother that makes him feel uneasy. “Your eyes…”

  
“What about them?”

  
“You have it too, don’t you?”

  
“I am not sick, Hvitserk. I’m just tired,” Ubbe says, and before his brother can object, he continues. “Now if you’re not going to get some sleep, you better get to work. Sigurd is moving the bodies outside, Ivar…”

  
“Ubbe?”

  
“What?”

  
“Are you sure you’re not sick?”

  
“I am fine, brother.”

* * *

Night has already fallen, but Hvitserk is still running around, his body aching more than after battle, but he knows that he can’t slow down. Not until they have beaten this, or his mind tells him, this disease has beaten them.

  
He has gotten so used to the coughing all around him, that it doesn’t faze him, he hardly even notices it anymore. But when he hears someone coughing this time, it sends chills right through his body. He turns around, but he already knows what he is about to see.

  
Ubbe is standing on the other side of the hall, his face red, his shirt drenched with sweat. Hvitserk can see that he’s in pain, but he knows his brother all too well, and he knows that he is not going to stop helping others, not until he falls over. But Hvitserk can’t let it go that far, because he has seen too many people die these days, and he is not willing to lose his brother. Not like this. So he makes his way through the room, and he grabs his brother’s arm.

  
“You are coming with me.”

  
“No, I’m not. I’m fine, Hvitserk.”

  
“Do you want to end up out there?” Hvitserk asks, and he catches Ubbe quickly glancing out of the door, glancing out at the bodies, which are starting to pile up, because they can’t get rid of them quick enough. “If you stay here, you will die, Ubbe.”

  
“I can’t leave them. They need help.”

  
“You can’t help them if you’re dead.”

  
Hvitserk’s words seem to get through to Ubbe, because he gives a small nod, before following his brother out of the hall. The smell of death is almost overwhelming, and it isn’t until they are home, that they finally truly allow themselves to breathe.  
But it’s also there that Hvitserk truly looks at his brother, and he realises how sick he is. His skin has gone ashen, except for his cheeks, which are a sickly bright red colour, and his eyes seem to have lost their brightness. They seem dull, as if there is a veil lying over them.

  
“Try and get some sleep,” Hvitserk says, as Ubbe sits down on his bed. He expects his brother to object, to fight him and tell him that he needs to go back and help. But instead, Ubbe nods, before taking off his sweat-drenched shirt. But when he gets up to take the rest of his clothes off, his legs almost give out, so Hvitserk hurries over to him, and he helps him out of his clothes, before helping him lie down in bed.

  
“I’m sorry,” Ubbe whispers, when Hvitserk lays the furs down over him, even though he is already burning up. “You were right.”

  
“You are going to beat this.”

  
“If I die…”

  
“You’re not dying, Ubbe.”

  
Ubbe gives a small nod, but he seems so small, so fragile, that it scares Hvitserk, because all their lives, they have been the best of friends. They have grown up together, and people have gotten used to them coming as a pair. If you see one, the other can’t be far behind. But what people don’t know, is that Hvitserk has always looked up to his brother, he has always secretly wished he was more like him. People assume he looks up to Bjorn, or Ragnar even, but it has always been Ubbe. So to see him, the strongest person he knows, so broken, it cuts him deep down to the core.

* * *

Hvitserk had spent the night looking over Ubbe, but as the morning had fallen, he had caught himself dozing off every now and then. So when he hears a faint mumbling, he jumps up.

  
Ubbe is staring up at him, his eyes glassy, but a small, strained smile on his face.

  
“How are you feeling?” Hvitserk whispers, scared that if he speaks any louder, his brother might break. “Do you want some water?”

  
Ubbe gives a nod, but it results in a coughing fit, and by the time he has recovered, his face has turned bright red, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead.

  
“Do you want to try and sit up for a bit?” Hvitserk asks, and Ubbe nods again. So Hvitserk gets up, and he wraps an arm around him to help him, but when he feels how hot he is, how he almost seems to be glowing, he flinches, and Ubbe seems to notice, because he pushes himself up, using every last bit of his strength.

  
Hvitserk opens his mouth to apologise, but what would be the point? So he pours Ubbe some water, and he hands it over to him, but he can see how much energy it costs him to even hold on to it, so he takes it back, and he helps him drink it. It reminds him of how he has done this with dozens of people over the last days, most of them now dead, and it sends a shiver right through him, because what if Ubbe dies? What if in a matter of days, hours even, Ubbe becomes just another body on the pile outside, waiting to be taken care of? What if this is one of their last moments together?

  
“I love you,” he whispers, after he has set the empty mug down. He brings his hand up to his brother’s face, and he ever so lightly brushes his fingers over the scar underneath his lip. It is barely even visible anymore, but Hvitserk still remembers how they had been fighting, just after their father had left. It had turned physical, and they had both taken out all their anger, their hurting, on each other. They hadn’t stopped, until Hvitserk had seen the blood starting to pour from his brother’s face. It had only been a small wound, but he had helped him clean it, and to tell him how sorry he was, he had kissed him. Of course Ubbe had forgiven him, and they had never spoken about the fight, or the kiss, again, but as Hvitserk brushes his fingers over the scar, he can’t help but smile.

  
“Do you remember?” Ubbe asks, his voice hoarse, but when Hvitserk looks him in the eyes, he sees some of its brightness in there. For a split-second, it gives him hope, but when he sees how badly his brother is shivering, he knows that it’s just wishful thinking.

  
“Do I remember that fight? Of course.” Hvitserk nods, trying his best to fake a smile. “When I saw how much blood there was…”

  
“Not the fight,” Ubbe interrupts, before taking a deep breath, “When you kissed me.”

  
“I was trying to apologise,” Hvitserk explains. “and I thought maybe I could take some of your pain.”

  
“It helped, you know?”

  
“It did?” Hvitserk chuckles, and when his brother reaches out his hand, he quickly grabs onto it. Just feeling his hand, feeling him still here with him, it gives him some kind of reassurance, but it doesn’t make that dark, growing feeling in the pit of his stomach go away.

* * *

Ubbe had tried to eat something, but just one bite had given him another coughing fit, so he had given up, and not long after, he had fallen asleep again, all the exhaustion from the last week now coming out and taking over. And although Hvitserk had tried his best to stay awake to keep an eye on his brother, he had fallen asleep too.

  
It isn’t until he hears the whimpering, that he wakes up. He doesn’t even need to check to see what is happening, because he has seen it before, and he knows what comes next.

  
“We need to break the fever,” he says, but Ubbe is too far away, too busy trying to fight the disease, to hear him. So without hesitating, Hvitserk climbs into bed with him, and he wraps his arms around him, hoping to stop the shivering. But Ubbe’s pained whimpers don’t stop, so Hvitserk brings his hand up to the back of his brother’s neck, and he tries to look him in the eyes.

  
“You are going to beat this,” he whispers, but tears form in Ubbe’s eyes, and Hvitserk does the only thing that he can think of right now, his mind too overcome with worry and fear. So he presses his lips against Ubbe’s, wanting nothing more than to take his pain away. But Ubbe pulls away, and he shakes his head.

  
“Please, let me help you.”

  
“You’ll get sick too.”

  
“I don’t care, Ubbe. Let me take your pain,” Hvitserk whispers, his hand still on the back of his brother’s neck. “Please. I can’t lose you.”

* * *

Hvitserk’s kisses had not stopped the shivering, nor had they broken the fever, but they had seemed to give Ubbe some kind of comfort, because in the end he had fallen asleep in his brother’s arms, and he had slept peacefully all through the night.  
Hvitserk is the first to wake up, but when he looks at his brother’s face, and he sees that the sickly redness is gone, when he sees the ashen colour of his face, his body freezes. He had seen it happen before, and after last night, this can only mean one thing, right?

  
But Ubbe slowly opens his eyes, and seeing him move, realising that he is still alive, it makes Hvitserk breathe a sigh of relief.

  
“How are you feeling?”

  
“Better,” Ubbe says, his voice hoarse, groggy, but after last night, Hvitserk didn’t think he was ever going to hear him speak again. “I think.”

  
Hvitserk reaches out to feel his brother’s face for his temperature, but Ubbe melts into his hand, and he can’t help but smile.

  
“The fever seems to have broken.”

  
“Does this mean…”

  
“It looks like it.” Hvitserk nods. “I told you, didn’t I? You are going to beat this, Ubbe.”

  
“Thank you, for looking after me.”

  
“Of course, you’re my brother. You would have done the same for me.”

  
“And for last night,” Ubbe adds, and Hvitserk can feel the blush creeping up on him. “I love you, Hvitserk.”

  
“I was trying to take your pain.”

  
“I’m still in pain, you know?” Ubbe whispers, and Hvitserk can see that the mischievous smile on his face, the glint in his eyes, they are real. This is no wishful thinking.

  
But he isn’t sure what to say, so he gets out of the bed, and he quickly picks up the mug, and fills it up with water.

  
“You should drink something, try to eat something…”

  
“Hvitserk?”

  
“Mhm?”

  
“Thank you.”

* * *

Although Ubbe had been feeling better this morning, he had wanted too much, too soon, so when this afternoon he had tried to get out of bed, his legs had given out underneath him. Hvitserk had quickly helped him back into bed, but it had taken all of Ubbe’s energy, so he had spent the afternoon sleeping.

  
Hvitserk is still keeping an eye on him, feeling his face to see if the fever had returned every now and then, but there seems to be no sign of a fever. He knows that Ubbe isn’t out of danger yet though, and that if he were to get up now, if he were to get back to helping the sick, it would kill him.

  
So when Ubbe wakes up, he prepares himself for what is coming. But whatever it takes, he will keep him at home, where he can look after him. Ubbe doesn’t try to get out of bed though, and the little hope he had had this morning, the little spark of life, it seems to be gone.

  
“Just give it time.”

  
“I should be out there, helping,” Ubbe spits out. “Instead I’m here, hiding…”

“Hiding? You could have died, Ubbe!”

  
“I need to do something, anything…”

  
“You need to get better,” Hvitserk says, and he reaches out and brushes the hair out of his brother’s face. “That’s what you need to do.”

  
Ubbe grabs his brother’s hand, and he carefully starts placing kisses onto his fingers, before moving onto his palm. Hvitserk can’t deny that the feeling of his brother’s mouth on the palm of his hand is making his dick twitch. He tries his best to ignore it though, but when Ubbe looks up at him, there is something in his eyes that make him wonder if he knows what he is doing.

  
“I am not in pain, Ubbe.”

  
“I know,” Ubbe says, before placing his mouth on his brother’s hand again. But Hvitserk pulls away from him, and he gets up, because he isn’t sure what is happening, or why. Last night was different, it was about trying to heal Ubbe, trying to help him, but Ubbe’s kisses feel different today. And Hvitserk isn’t sure what to do with them.

* * *

Hvitserk had spent the night in his own bed, and for the first time in a long time, he had slept right through the night. It wasn’t until he had heard the wailing right outside their door, that he had woken up. He had gone to check it out, but when he had seen a woman holding onto two small bodies, the smell already so bad, that it had almost made Hvitserk throw up, he had quickly closed the door.

  
Ubbe had been ready to get out of bed and help the woman, but as soon as he had gotten out of bed, his legs had gone wobbly. Only this time Hvitserk hadn’t been there to help. Instead, he had watched him from the other side of the room, a knowing look on his face.

  
“Fine, I guess I will stay in bed then.”

  
“Good,” Hvitserk says. “I will kill you myself if you go out there.”

* * *

“What’s this?” Ubbe asks, when later that day his brother sets down a bowl of water and a cloth by the bed.

  
“So you can wash yourself. You stink.”

  
“Thanks!” Ubbe laughs, but he doesn’t deny it. He can’t. So he moves over to the edge of the bed, and he picks up the wet cloth. Hvitserk tries not to look, but he catches himself peeking a glance every second or so, just to keep an eye on his brother. And he can see that he is growing tired already, that he doesn’t have any energy built up yet.

  
So he goes over to him, and he takes the cloth from him, before kneeling down in front of him. Without saying a word, he washes his arms, his chest, then his feet, his legs, but he is so obviously avoiding touching him any lower than his chest, or higher than his knees, that it becomes painful, causing the tension to grow bigger by the second.

  
“Don’t stop,” Ubbe whispers, and Hvitserk looks up at him. He can see the red in his face, but he knows that this is no fever. This is something else entirely, something he recognises, because he can feel his own cheeks burning too.

  
He ever so carefully brings the cloth up to his brother’s thigh, and he finds himself caressing him, slowly, gently. It makes his blood pump faster, and although he isn’t sure what this is yet, he knows that this is what he wants. So he leans down, and he places the softest kisses on his brother’s thighs, before opening up his legs, and placing his mouth on the inside of his legs. He ignores Ubbe’s dick, not wanting to touch it, not yet, but he places kisses all around it, before making his way up to Ubbe’s chest. And he doesn’t stop kissing him until Ubbe grabs onto his shoulder, and he squeezes tightly.

  
“Do you want me to stop?”

  
“I want you to touch me,” Ubbe says, his words cutting right through the tension. “I want you, Hvitserk.”

  
“This is just the fever talking.”

  
“It’s not, and you know it.”

  
Hvitserk gets up, and he starts pacing up and down the room, trying not to look at his brother. But when he sees him still sitting on the edge of the bed, his dick now hard, it hits him that he has done that. He has made him hard. And although he knows it shouldn’t, it makes his dick twitch in his breeches. It makes him want to fuck his brother right then and there. But he still remembers how sick Ubbe had been, perhaps still is, so he stays where he is, and he tries his best to suppress his wants and needs.

  
“Have I upset you?” Ubbe asks, but Hvitserk just shrugs. “This is not the fever, Hvitserk.”

  
“It is. Believe me.”

  
“Remember the year before last?” Ubbe begins, but before giving his brother a chance to answer, he continues. “When we were discussing girls, boys… I told you I would ever only truly love one person, didn’t I?”

  
“Yes, the girl who is going to end up as your wife.” Hvitserk shrugs, still not sure where this is going, but when he sees the smile forming on his brother’s face, he finally realises. “Oh…”

  
“I meant it then, and I still mean it now.”

  
Hvitserk is still trying to take in what Ubbe has just told him, but when Ubbe tries to get up, so he can come over to him to try and comfort him, Hvitserk hurries over to him, fully aware of the fact that his legs are not able to carry him just yet. So he lays him down in bed, but as their bodies are touching, their mouths end up finding each other too. Ubbe pulls Hvitserk into bed with him, and one kiss leads to another, their mouths now not here just to take away each other’s pain, but they are hungry for one another.

  
“Is this okay? I don’t want to hurt you,” Hvitserk says, but Ubbe answers by kissing him again, and pulling him closer, but something doesn’t feel right just yet.

  
“Take it off,” Ubbe orders him, and any other day Hvitserk would have told him off for treating him like a dog, but not today. Today he does as he is told, and as soon as he is out of his clothes, he lets himself be pulled into his brother’s arms again. But the feeling of skin on skin, it takes Hvitserk’s breath away, and he gasps for air.

  
“You’re not…?”

  
“I’m not,” Hvitserk quickly says, because no, this is definitely not the disease. But with the way his heart is racing, it could prove to be just as deadly. It doesn’t stop him from kissing Ubbe again though, and when he feels their dicks brushing up against each other, he knows where this is going. And just like they had always seem to share thoughts when they were younger, they reach down at the same time, and they grab onto each other’s dick, their mouths still not ready to let go of each other just yet.

  
But they are too hungry, they have been waiting too long, so they start pumping away, hard and fast, and their kisses become sloppier by the second, before they end up in hushed moans.

  
“Fuck!” Ubbe cries out, as he comes, his cum glistening on his and Hvitserk’s skin, and when Hvitserk looks down, and he sees it, it makes that hot fire inside of him grow even bigger. Ubbe seems to notice, because he starts pumping faster, wanting to make his brother come too. Hvitserk closes his eyes, and just feeling his brother’s mouth on his neck, on his throat, his hand pumping away on his dick, it’s enough to make him come.

  
As he lies there, still catching his breath, he sees the energy flowing out of Ubbe. Only moments ago he had been full of fire, full of life, but only days ago, he was sick as a dog. And it seems to have caught up with him, because his face is starting to lose its colour again, and his eyes are growing glassier.

  
“Get some sleep,” Hvitserk whispers, trying not to show how worried he truly is. Because what if this has made Ubbe sick again? What if this was the little push that has sent him over the edge? What if this has just killed him?

  
“I love you, brother,” Ubbe whispers, before curling up into his brother’s arms, a small, tired smile on his face. Hvitserk kisses the top of his head, as he wraps his arms around him, too scared to ever let go again.

  
“I love you, too.”

* * *

It has only been a few days, but Ubbe has almost recovered. He is back up on his feet, and tomorrow he wants to try and leave the house again. Hvitserk still thinks it’s too early, but the disease seems to have died down, and people seem to be getting better, slowly but surely. Many lives have been lost though, and Hvitserk is all too aware that Ubbe could have been among the lost.

  
He is sitting on his bed, just thinking about what had happened between him and Ubbe, and Ubbe seems to notice, because he joins him, and he grabs his hand.

  
“I’m still here, Hvitserk.”

  
“I could have killed you.”

  
“You could never kill me.” Ubbe smiles, before resting his forehead against his brother’s. “It wasn’t just a fever either, you know?”

  
“No?”

  
“You know it wasn’t. What we did…”

  
“Don’t.”

  
“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

  
“That it was a mistake. If you hadn’t been sick…,” Hvitserk begins, but when his brother squeezes tightly into his hand, he stops talking. He looks up, and he sees the hurt in Ubbe’s eyes, which sends a shiver right through him.

  
“Do you think it was a mistake?”

  
“No, but…”

  
“Neither do I. I wanted it, I still do. But right now Kattegat needs us. Our family needs us,” Ubbe says, before looking down at his hand, which is still wrapped tightly around his brother’s. “I meant what I said, Hvitserk. I will never love anyone as I love you.”

  
Hvitserk doesn’t know what to say, because something tells him that as soon as they step a foot outside, whatever it is that they have shared these last days, it will be broken. What has happened, it will never happen again, and once they go out there, everything is going to change.

  
But Ubbe can see right through his fears, his hesitation, so he brings their mouths together, hoping that it will give him some kind of reassurance. There is still a hint of doubt in Hvitserk’s eyes when the kiss breaks though, so Ubbe sighs, a knowing smile on his face.

  
“I will always need you, okay? Not just now, not just…”

  
“You don’t know that.”

  
“I do. I want you there to kiss my pain away, to…”

  
“Did it really help?” Hvitserk asks, and Ubbe shrugs, his smile growing shy, almost bashful. “It didn’t?”

  
“It did, Hvitserk. I survived, didn’t I?”

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr : https://samunderthelights.tumblr.com/


End file.
